The countries of southern Europe attracted relatively few Scots in the early modern period. There were exceptions, of course. Those Scots who could be found in countries such as Spain and Italy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were predominantly Roman Catholics who had been sent to colleges in Spain, Italy, or France to complete their education. Most of them joined the priesthood.
The failure of the Jacobite Risings in 1715 and 1745, however, resulted in a number of Jacobites, mainly Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, taking refuge in locations within Catholic Europe, especially Italy where the Court of King James Stuart was based. Other Jacobite refugees became merchants in locations such as Madeira and Lisbon. By the eighteenth century, aristocratic families were sending their sons on the Grand Tour of Europe, especially to Italy and Greece; subsequently, artists and scholars settled there, some permanently, others temporarily. The expansion of the British Empire during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries led to Scottish soldiers and sailors being stationed at places such as Gibraltar and Malta, while the Iberian campaign of the Napoleonic Wars brought many Scottish fighting men to Spain and Portugal, mostly in British service, but some in Portuguese service.
This volume is an expanded and revised version of a book published in 2013 and contains much new data mainly derived from original research in the Regional Archives of Madeira in Funchal. Madeira was significant in transatlantic trade and emigration, as many vessels made it a main port of call prior to crossing the Atlantic or on the return journey. For each emigrant, we are given a name, place of residence, date, and a citation. Many of the entries also convey the identities of a parent, spouse, or other relation; occupation (student, soldier, merchant, professor, etc.); vessel traveled on; and so on. The author supports his list of travelers with a list of Scottish vessels, their captains, and the date and destination of at least one vessel sailing to Southern Europe. This book contains as many as 1,800 Scots found in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Madeira, Malta, the Balearic Islands, the Azores, and the Canary Islands-20% more than named in the original edition.
David Dobson
2019, paper, 184 pp.
ISBN: 9780806359021
102-8710
